by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Finally, there’s some Holiday Music we can really get behind, and I’m not talking about “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” Things are probably a bit more confusing for the Austin (via Boston) quartet Holiday Music come the end of the year, but let the distinction be made, this Holiday Music is enjoyable all year long, and they’re always getting better. The band’s syrupy and stoned fuzz songs are delivered with a slow drip, each new layer of shimmering noise ringing out in the service of texture. Mike Hlady and co. have put out some true gems together with East Coast tastemakers Disposable America and Super Wimpy Punch, but have since moved across the country to bring their brand of auditory magic to the Texas landscape.
“Moves“ is the first product of their relocation, a brilliant single released back in May. While we eagerly await their next album, Certified Ailments, we’re excited to share the premiere of the single’s new video, directed by Jake Miles. With Hlady dressed in a unsettling costume that rests somewhere between your clown-based nightmares, a nun, and Death from Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, the video’s keeps the snail pace of the song’s detached introduction, a perfectly wilting melody that feels stretched and pulled. The tempo picks up, slightly warped like manipulated tape, as the band plink around in a frantic yet slurred state. The speed continues to expand and contract without warning, disorienting in the best of ways. A few rattled piano notes later and the song explodes into a kaleidoscope of sun-soaked distortion, and the video’s psychedelic crescendo follows suit. We could all use to listen to more Holiday Music.